Employment Basics for Employers – Employment Agreements

Silicon Valley employers expect a hiring boom in technology jobs in the next two years, especially in the areas of social networking, cloud computing, and mobile technology, according to a recent study headed by NOVA, a nonprofit, federally funded employment and training agency in Sunnyvale. As a result, many companies will face basic employment issues, such as recruiting qualified employees, performing reference checks on potential candidates, and having solid employment agreements in place. In my last blog I discussed when you should consider using an employment agreement rather than just a simple offer letter for a new employee. Generally employment agreements are used for top executives and high level managers. Here is a brief summary of some of the terms you should have in those high-level employment agreements.

Position
o This can be either a general description for higher executives, or a list of tasks, authority level and who the person reports to for other employees.
o You should include expectations of performance, including statements of the amount of time and effort you are expecting. My agreements often say that the employee is expected to devote substantially all of her time and efforts to the company and may not work for any other employers without the company’s permission. For some companies you may also want to say that your employees may not own stock in your competitors.
o Make it clear that the position is at-will, and explain what that means.

o Refer to any company rules and regulations like an employee handbook, if you have one, and don’t forget to say that the company can change the rules and regulations at any time and that the employee must comply with any changes.

Be very careful with post-termination non-competition agreements in California, as they are generally against public policy and can only be enforced in limited circumstances. An illegal non-competition clause can actually invalidate the whole agreement if you are not careful. There are additional considerations if the company and/or the employee are outside of California. Make sure you work with an attorney if you are thinking about including a non-competition clause in your employment agreements.

Compensation
o Salary or hourly? Equity compensation? Exempt or non-exempt? Bonus eligibility? Be aware that there are special rules for computer professionals in California.
o Be careful with commissions – there are a lot of traps for the unwary when dealing with compensating salespersons, including wage and hour laws like minimum wage, as well as commission accrual and payment, especially after the employee is terminated. Advanced planning and a good agreement can save your company a lot of time, money and effort when it comes to a salesperson who leaves your company.
o Expense Reimbursements – generally you are required to reimburse employees for expenses in performing their duties, but you want a clear system for pre-approval, and it is often good to set out in their agreement what expenses you expect to cover and what you will not (e.g. cell phones, professional dues, parking, equipment costs).

o List any benefits you provide such as vacation and sick leave, health insurance, life insurance, 401(k) and profit sharing plans.

Term/Termination
o Although most companies will want the employment to be at-will, agreements with executives and senior management usually have some limits on termination without cause, including potential severance pay.

o Your employment agreement should also cover post-termination requirements such as the return of company property and continuing obligations, or a reference to a separate nondisclosure agreement.

No matter what you put in your employment agreement, make sure you include a provision that the company may change the terms without the consent of the employee. However, you should still proceed with caution before making a change so that you do not violate wage and hour laws or cause a constructive termination, potentially giving the employee rights against the company.